Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

Shopping, dining the uptown way | The crisp weather will recede in just a few months, so hug those sweaters tight and enjoy a climate-control-free environment. Several outdoor venues beckon, but few have the retro vibe found near Central Avenue and Camelback Road in uptown Phoenix. It’s led by the revival of Uptown Plaza (built in 1955), where favorites from New York (Shake Shack) and Chicago (Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria) have staked out turf. Enjoy the cuisine of the Midwest and East Coast without the winter. Head across Central to find such local retail favorites as Stinkweeds (records), All About Books and Comics and Cowtown Skateboards. | Details: uptownphxplaza.com, stinkweeds.com, allaboutbooksandcomics.com, cowtownskateboards.com. David Wallace/The Republic

Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

Shopping, dining the uptown way | The crisp weather will recede in just a few months, so hug those sweaters tight and enjoy a climate-control-free environment. Several outdoor venues beckon, but few have the retro vibe found near Central Avenue and Camelback Road in uptown Phoenix. It’s led by the revival of Uptown Plaza (built in 1955), where favorites from New York (Shake Shack) and Chicago (Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria) have staked out turf. Enjoy the cuisine of the Midwest and East Coast without the winter. Head across Central to find such local retail favorites as Stinkweeds (records), All About Books and Comics and Cowtown Skateboards. | Details: uptownphxplaza.com, stinkweeds.com, allaboutbooksandcomics.com, cowtownskateboards.com.
David Wallace/The Republic

Phoenix-based Levine Investments, led by Bill Levine, paid $51.65 million for the Uptown Plaza, a strip mall at the intersection of Camelback Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix. It's home to restaurant Flower Child and retailer West Elm. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

Phoenix-based Levine Investments, led by Bill Levine, paid $51.65 million for the Uptown Plaza, a strip mall at the intersection of Camelback Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix. It's home to restaurant Flower Child and retailer West Elm.
Tom Tingle/The Republic

The Shake Shack is a restaurant at Uptown Plaza, a strip mall at the intersection of Camelback Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix. Phoenix-based Levine Investments, led by Bill Levine, paid $51.65 million for the center. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

The Shake Shack is a restaurant at Uptown Plaza, a strip mall at the intersection of Camelback Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix. Phoenix-based Levine Investments, led by Bill Levine, paid $51.65 million for the center.
Tom Tingle/The Republic

The interior of the new Lou Malnati's Pizzeria in Phoenix takes its Mid-Century Modern inspiration from the surrounding Uptown Plaza Dominic Armato/The Republic

Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

The interior of the new Lou Malnati's Pizzeria in Phoenix takes its Mid-Century Modern inspiration from the surrounding Uptown Plaza
Dominic Armato/The Republic

Huss Brewing Co. Taproom at Phoenix's Uptown Plaza. Huss Brewing Co.

Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

Huss Brewing Co. Taproom at Phoenix's Uptown Plaza.
Huss Brewing Co.

Creamistry Uptown Plaza. Creamistry

Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

Creamistry Uptown Plaza.
Creamistry

AJ's Fine Foods is an upscale grocery store at Uptown Plaza, a strip mall at the intersection of Camelback Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Uptown Plaza in Phoenix

AJ's Fine Foods is an upscale grocery store at Uptown Plaza, a strip mall at the intersection of Camelback Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix.
Tom Tingle/The Republic

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The center, home to restaurant Flower Child and retailer West Elm, was
built in 1955 by Del Webb on nine acres at the northeast corner of Camelback Road and Central Avenue. It was revamped a few years ago by Vintage Partners.

Phoenix-based Levine Investments, led by Bill Levine, paid cash for the center, which is anchored by AJ's Fine Foods, according to public real-estate records filed Friday.

A spokeswoman for Levine said the company doesn’t comment on its properties.

A Miami limited-liability company called Uptown Plaza Associates sold the shopping center, which it had owned for several decades.

Real-estate and planning experts named the intersection the most popular one in the Valley in an Urban Land Institute competition.

The last time the group did the ranking, before light rail started running, the uptown area didn’t make the top 10 list. Businesses were closing in the area. Its main shopping center was looking run-down, and neighborhoods around it weren't drawing nearly as many homebuyers or renovations as they do now.

“Camelback and Central has old buildings with great design, diversity and very supportive neighbors," said Craig DeMarco, restaurateur and a founder of Upward Projects.

It's one of only a few intersections in the Valley with four historic neighborhoods surrounding it.

DeMarco’s group has opened five restaurants, including a Postino, Windsor and Federal Pizza, around Camelback and Central over the past decade.

Levine, who co-founded outside advertising company Outdoor Systems with Arturo Moreno, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Arizona real estate. He ranked as one of the state’s billionaires on the annual Forbes magazine list in previous years.